We're all smiles at QPHS
During the first week of term Queen's Park High School had an Ofsted inspection and we are delighted to be able to share the report with the final outcome of what was our first full inspection as a new academy since our conversion back in 2017.
We are extremely proud to inform you that the overall judgement is that we are now officially rated as a GOOD school. Whilst we felt very strongly that this was the case, this judgement brings welcome recognition and validation of all the hard work which has taken place across the school over recent years and is in line with our own self-evaluation of our current strengths and areas for further development.
The summary of the inspection is as follows:
| Overall effectiveness | Good |
|---|---|
| The quality of education | Good |
| Behaviour and attitudes | Good |
| Personal development | Good |
| Leadership and management | Good |
| Sixth-form provision | Requires improvement |
We are particularly proud of the following key findings which very much reflect the essence of our school:
- Leaders and staff have high expectations of all pupils
- Pupils enjoy coming to school
- The atmosphere in the school is calm and welcoming
- Relationships between staff and pupils are positive and respectful
- Sixth Form students are excellent role models for younger students
- Pupils take part in many activities, which help to develop their confidence and resilience
- Behaviour is good
- Leaders want pupils to become well-rounded individuals who understand the wider world
- The headteacher and governors are ambitious for all pupils
The inspectors recognised the improvements which have been made in relation to the quality of teaching and learning and our curriculum across the school. They stated that ‘most pupils achieve well in a wide range of subjects at the end of key stage 4’ and we feel confident that our current Year 11 students will continue this upward trend in the summer.
Whilst inspectors were complimentary about the 6th Form overall, the ‘sixth form provision’ judgement was essentially limited by the need for another set of improved examination results. The inspectors visited a number of Year 12 lessons and expressed confidence in the actions which have been taken by leaders to date around the curriculum and also the quality of the education evident. As a school, we know that our 6th Form outcomes will continue to improve over the next 18 months so feel certain that we will equally be able to judge this area to be ‘Good’ in the near future.
So what next for us as a school?
We are even more ambitious for the future now and will be working hard to address the areas for improvement as outlined in the report. As Headteacher, Miss Watterson has frequently spoken to staff and governors about the 2019-20 academic year being ‘our year’, in essence our time to shine and be seen as the school of choice in our locality, this judgement marks the first stage of that journey.
"I feel incredibly proud of everything that we have achieved to date as a school community and would just like to take this opportunity to say a few thank yous; to my amazing team of staff for all their hard work, dedication and commitment; to our wonderful students for their endless talents, creativity and individuality and finally to all the parents/carers, for their unwavering support, belief and trust in both myself and the school as a whole. This positive outcome is most definitely the result of a big team effort of which we should all feel incredibly proud."
Miss Watterson, Headteacher
A copy of the report can be downloaded and read below which will also be published on the Ofsted website from Thursday 23rd January 2020.
